


Petty Assumptions

by Peskychloe



Series: BokuAka Week [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Pining Akaashi, oblivious idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 14:23:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10492797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peskychloe/pseuds/Peskychloe
Summary: "It was just a few words, near the bottom of the article, printed alongside a photograph he hadn't taken."-I'm not sure who was more dejected here, Akaashi or Bokuto, but they're both annoyed about something.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 - Dejection

Daichi sighed and frowned as he looked at the sales figures Konoha passed to him. Things were going to have to change, and quickly, if they were going to make it past April. Sales for Parklife had been sliding steadily downhill in the past four years, even the DIY aesthetic of the skateboarding scene not translating into sales of a printed magazine. Everyone could find what they wanted online, at the touch of a screen, who needed paper any more?

'What can we do, Aki?'

'We should definitely look into making it available online, but the print run... I don't know, Dai, it's just not looking good.' His assistant looked worried as he raked his hand through his fringe.

'I thought giving stuff away would help...'

'It did, for a while, depends what you give them.' He pointed out numbers on the sheets. 'The month we gave away stickers sold more than usual. Then here, that's the month with the free trucks. People don't like having to do something to get the freebie.'

'Is that the one where they had to go into a shop to pick them up?' Konoha nodded. 'Yeah, that was a stupid idea. Skaters are lazy.'

Konoha tapped his chin in thought, flicking through the proofs for the following month's magazine. 'This interview with Carnal Trash is great. Yacchi is coming into her own. Akaashi do the shots?'

'Yeah, he got friendly with them after he did that concert review,' Daichi said, taking the sheets of print off him. The photos had come out really well, he'd caught them all looking happy and relaxed to fit the tone of their music.

'What about giving away a unique download code? For a few of their tracks?'

'Hey, that's a pretty good idea. Nothing to make, just a code generated for each copy.'

'Exactly. They're getting good coverage at the minute. Might just get people buying the magazine.' Konoha stood up from the desk. 'I can give their manager a ring and get things moving?'

'Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks. I'll get writing the editorial.'

Konoha left him to it, cursing himself for creating a situation where he had telephone Oikawa fucking Tooru and negotiate with him.

 

–

 

It was just a few words, near the bottom of the article, printed alongside a photograph he hadn't taken.

_'The band recently toured Japan supporting Small Giant (pictured: Tanaka Saeko, their lead singer, with Bokuto Koutarou, who she's rumoured to be dating.'_

He had an arm slung around her shoulders, towering over her slender form, leaning close to her face as he spoke. She was laughing, her eyes squeezed shut, hands holding onto her sides. He wondered what he'd said to make her laugh like that, but with Bokuto he knew it could have been literally anything.

He wondered how recently the photo was taken; Carnal Trash (that ridiculous name never failed to annoy Akaashi) hadn't been on tour in the time he'd been friends with Bokuto, so even if there had been something going on, it could be over by now.

Checking himself for a minute, he wondered why it even mattered. He had no claims on Bokuto, they were just friends. Who messaged each other daily to say good morning, met up for lunch when they were both free and in each other's vicinity, and sent texts wishing 'sweet dreams' from underneath their duvets at night time.

No, they definitely weren't _just_ friends, not for Akaashi.

He peered again at the picture, bringing it closer to his face to try and make out Bokuto's expression. He didn't look any less warm than when he was telling Akaashi jokes. This must be the way Bokuto acted around all his friends.

No, there was a difference, wasn't there? It took a while for it to register, but Bokuto didn't hang over Akaashi's shoulder like that. He didn't lean into his face to get a close look at the reaction, to relish the slight chuckle, the twitch at the corner of his mouth, not in the way he was doing in this photo with Saeko.

Bokuto's body language spoke volumes, now he looked closer. He wanted to know if Saeko found him funny, pressing himself into her. He recognised it now. Even if they weren't dating, Bokuto was clearly attracted to her, making him out of his league in more ways than he previously thought.

Yeah, they were definitely friends, but _just_ friends _._ Apparently that was the most Bokuto saw him as.

 

–

 

At first, he hadn't wanted to meet for lunch, but it had been a few days since the magazine was published, and also, since they'd seen each other. The insistence in Bokuto's messages was pulling at him, despite how rattled he felt about his misunderstanding.

_'Fine, let's have lunch, usual place? 1?'_ he sent back, against his better judgement. He had to see him some time, it might as well be now.

' **Yay! Its been toooooo long, pal. Lots to catch up on.** '

He felt movement near him, and looked up to see Yukie walking over with his usual coffee order. He thanked her as she put it down, and she put the hand holding the now empty tray on her hip.

'You meeting Bokuto today? Haven't seen him in days.'

This surprised Akaashi. Even if they didn't meet up there, he knew Bokuto usually popped in for a smoothie every day when he got up – he would have said every morning, but he was a late riser with all the late nights he got after playing live.

'He hasn't been in?' Yukie shook her head. 'I wonder why that is?'

'Probably busy. I'm sure he's fine.' She shrugged and walked off.

The bell on the door tinged, and Akaashi looked up, but it wasn't Bokuto yet. He checked his phone, and it was past one o'clock. It wasn't like him to be late, and today of all days he just wanted to get that first contact over with so things could start going back to normal.

The sound of the blender rang through the cafe, punctuated by Yukie giggling. Whoever had arrived was making her laugh. He smiled at the sound, and glanced up but could only see the back of someone wearing a baggy black hoodie and striped beanie hat.

He scrolled back through Bokuto's conversation, just to check he had the right time. There was nothing there to make him think he wouldn't show; he'd been looking forward to seeing him again, hadn't he? He said it had been too long, even though he'd then called him pal, that was still something?

As he frowned at his phone, the chair opposite was pulled out, and someone moved to sit in it.

'Sorry that seat's...' He trailed off as he looked up and spoke. The man in the beanie hat had brought over his smoothie and decided to sit opposite Akaashi.

Ah. He was right on time after all.

'Hey, Akaashi.'

 

–

 

The beanie was pulled down over his forehead, pressing his hair flat against it. He'd had no idea how long Bokuto's hair was, but he supposed the length it stuck up from his head should have given him a clue. The strands poking out from under the hat reached his chin, parted so half fell either side of his eyes.

His eyes had lost some of their usual sparkle, lids half closed, and dark rings smudged under them. He still smiled at Akaashi, but it was laboured and half-hearted.

'I didn't see you come in,' he said, apologetically.

'Yeah, didn't think you recognised me. I never know whether to be offended that people only recognise my hair.' 

'To be fair to me, it's quite striking. You can't have a hair style like that and expect people not to remember it.'

'Be nice to be remembered for more than this though,' Bokuto said with irritation. He pulled off his hat, and pushed the hair back off his face. Without any hair products, it flopped back down halfway again, the wet bits still lying flat, the clumps already dry sticking upwards. He tutted, pulling the hat back over the disaster, tucking all the stray strands under it.

Akaashi drank his coffee, sneaking a look at him over the rim of the cup. He wasn't his usual self, it happened from time to time, but he could usually coax him out of it. He'd never seen him looking this tired though; he was looking into his smoothie, or out of the window, not saying anything.

He wasn't sure what to say. Telling him he looked tired would probably aggravate him when he was already feeling touchy about his appearance. Similarly, telling him he looked just fine with his hair down might sound like he was just trying to make him feel better – even though to him, it was just the truth. Of course, he would have recognised him immediately with his hair spiked up, but it didn't mean he thought he looked any better that way. The fluffy tufts of hair he'd seen framing his face for a few minutes had given him a whole new appreciation of the sharpness of his jaw.

He picked what he thought would be a neutral topic, and asked if he'd seen the article in Parklife. As it turned out, he couldn't have chosen a worse subject.

'Um, yeah. I don't want to talk about it.'

'Did you not like the interview?'

'No, that was fine. And the photos. Leave it, 'Kaashi.'

Akaashi pulled out his fail-safe. 'Shall we order some food?' 

'Nah, you go ahead, I'm ok with this?' He gestured at the smoothie he was slowly working his way through.

Akaashi opened his mouth to answer, but thought better of it. If he wasn't hungry, they were in territory he had no idea of how to handle. Bokuto was always hungry, or at least he was always up for eating something. If he ever had leftovers, which happened rarely, he could count on Bokuto to hoover them up. 

So, instead he wandered over to the counter, with a quick, 'Be right back,' aimed at the top of his head as he bent over and unlocked his phone.

'Can I get a falafel sub, and a bowl of fries?' he asked Yukie, who looked surprised.

'Is that all?'

'Yeah, for now. Actually, put a couple of portions in the one bowl.' He figured that ordering extra food, disguised as just one order, would also disguise the fact he was trying to encourage Bokuto to eat something. He paid, requesting another two coffees while he thought about it, and went back to the table. 

Bokuto was still looking at his phone screen, and he could see the familiar blue speech bubbles that meant he must be messaging someone. He apologised, saying he was nearly done, and Akaashi waved a hand to show it was fine.

He checked his own phone, but there was nothing new, so he carried on drinking his coffee, until eventually Yukie brought over the food.

'Got you a coffee,' he explained when Bokuto looked puzzled at the cup being placed in front of him. 'Late night?'

'Just a gig. I am a bit tired though, thanks.'

Akaashi nodded, and started eating his sandwich. The bowl of hot fries was in the middle of the table, and was obviously too tempting for Bokuto to stubbornly resist. He dug in and pulled out a handful, asking if it was ok a millisecond before shoving them in his mouth anyway.

'It's fine. Help yourself.' He nudged the bowl slightly onto the other side of the table, and Bokuto took the cue to take more. Some colour seemed to be coming back into his cheeks, but Akaashi still wanted to be cautious.

He plumped for talking about the TV show he watched the night before, which, luckily, Bokuto had also watched. They discussed how they weren't very sure what was happening, as it was based on a comic neither had read, but the pace was dividing them. Akaashi was curious to see how things would be explained, whereas Bokuto was already getting impatient.

'It was the third episode. I want to know  _ something _ about what's going on. Otherwise it's just silly.' Most of the fries had now gone, almost all eaten by him.

'It's building tension, though. It's making you want to know what's going on. It's doing its job.'

'I mean, it looks lovely. I like watching it, as in  _ watching _ it.' He waved a hand around in a circle at arm's length, as if indicating his TV screen. 'I'm just... not really, like, listening to it. You know?'

'How will you know what's going on if you don't listen?'

'I'll listen when I know I'll get some answers.'

'You might miss the clues though? It's probably a good idea to pay more attention. If you can.' He narrowed his eyes, wiped his hands on a paper napkin from the holder, and nodded towards the bowl. 'You can finish the fries off, if you want. I've had enough.'

Bokuto smiled, the first genuine smile of the day, and wiped the last few fries around the bottom of the dish, picking up the seasoning.

'I was more hungry than I thought. I feel a bit better now. And way too warm.' He pulled off his hat again, and shrugged his hoodie off and onto the back of his chair.

All of his hair was dry now, and he pushed it back again, this time the slight sheen of grease which had collected on his fingers keeping it off his forehead. Maybe now they'd eaten was the time to ask what was up.  


'I like your hair like that. It's... nice. Just for a change, I mean, I like it normally too.'

He grinned back at Akaashi, with genuine pleasure. 'Thanks. Maybe I'll wear it down more often, then. I just didn't sleep well, couldn't be bothered doing it this morning.'

'Having trouble sleeping?' Bokuto nodded. 'Since when?'

'The weekend.' Akaashi tried not to focus on how this was about the same time he'd started spending less time contacting him, and ploughed on.

'Why do you think that is?' he asked, as carefully as he could.

Bokuto put his coffee cup to his lips, even though Akaashi was almost positive it was empty. His forehead creased, eyebrows furrowed in thought. Finally he put the cup down, without drinking anything, and looked straight at Akaashi.

'This is awkward. But. To be honest, I'm pissed off with your magazine.'

'It's not really mine, I just work for them. What did they do?' He wanted to distance himself from whatever was making Bokuto look so pained.

'That article.' 

'What about it? Not the interview or the photos, you said?'

'No.' He picked up a long, thin sugar packet, and held it by one end, starting to flap it in his hand. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Always.'

'What's your editor like? I mean, is he nice?'

Akaashi didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't that. He wasn't sure what Daichi had done, he hadn't even be involved in the article, except for signing off on the final edit. The fact was, Daichi was a good bloke, hard working, caring towards his work force, but without taking any shit. But would he describe him as nice? That would depend on how Bokuto meant it.

'In what way?'

'I'm just kinda... annoyed with him. For saying that stuff. I mean, it's just the assumption really.'

'I honestly don't know what you mean, Bokuto, but I want to try and help. So, please, tell me.'

He turned in his chair, and dug around in the messenger bag hanging underneath his hoodie. Eventually he pulled out a rolled-up copy of Parklife, looking too well read and tatty considering how it had been out for less than a week. He thumbed through it, and the page fell open to the article about the band, in a way that suggested he'd been focusing his attention on it a little too much.

'Right there.' He pushed the magazine across the table, jabbing his finger at the same picture of him and Saeko that had troubled Akaashi in much the same way. 

He looked up at Bokuto, trying to keep a level expression, his heart hammering in his chest. 'What about it?'

'Assuming two people who are just friends are involved with each other. Just cause I have my arm 'round her. It's insulting.' He turned the magazine towards himself again, scowling at it again. 'I mean, I like Saeko and everything, she's a good gal. We're just not dating, and it pisses me off!'

'If you like her, why does it upset you so much?'

He rolled his eyes, as if it was obvious. 'The assumption! Just cause I'm hugging her. Just assuming I'm straight, it pisses me off. This whole scene is so bloody judgemental.'

'So... you're not dating Saeko?' He needed confirmation or he wouldn't fully believe it.

He laughed, finally, and Akaashi had never been so relieved. 'Nah. She's not my type, and I'm pretty sure I'm not hers since she's been going out with Akiteru since High School. He's fairly pissed off as well. Not as much as me, but...'

Akaashi pulled the magazine towards him again, looking back at the photo. He couldn't see how anyone who was into women wouldn't be into her. Her face was pretty, and although he had no interest in that kind of thing, he could appreciate her figure was attractive, if you liked soft, curves of flesh.

'How is she not your type? She's beautiful.'

'She your type, then?' he asked, eyebrows raised.

'Well, not really, but...'

'No, I didn't think so.' He stretched his hand across the table. At first he thought he was taking back the magazine, but the hand travelled further, and rested instead on top of Akaashi's. 

He looked up, and Bokuto's face was lit up, golden shards back in his irises, glowing as brightly as the embers of hope starting to glow in his chest again.

'Now who isn't hearing the clues, Keiji?'

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------  


Day 5 - Health - I chose to use mental health as a theme, and have Bokuto with his hair down. This is probably a different day to the one described, but it follows the same constant theme we see with Bokuto.

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/peskychloe/33716925286/in/dateposted-public/)

**Author's Note:**

> The TV show is Legion, in case you're wondering.


End file.
